We interrupt this regularly scheduled broadcast for a quick patio progress report: the wallet-draining patio supplies (mentioned here) have arrived. And now we kind of get why they were so expensive. They’re bigger than our car, it took a giant truck to haul them, they weigh over 19,000 pounds (that’s not a typo or an estimation, it’s on our itemized delivery ticket) and they completely monopolize the carport. John’s out there working away today (T minus one week until Clara’s big par-tay) so I thought I’d slip in this sneak peek of the craziness that is the current patio project. More details soon.
But now back to the whole question of “Home Sweet Home?”
Anyway, the first few weeks of living in our house didn’t feel like it was our house. It didn’t necessarily feel like the previous owners’ house either. But it just didn’t really feel like ours. Call it House Limbo if you will.
Even after moving in every last box and setting up Clara’s crib and sleeping in our new bedroom for thirty-ish days in a row it still felt kind of like we were living here but not exactly “home.” Then we painted the master bedroom (the first room besides Clara’s that we tackled) and somehow something shifted and it felt a little more like ours.
Maybe it just took a few of those bigger “alterations” (like changing the wall color) to help it sink in that it’s really our house and we can do whatever we want to it.
I remember how novel that concept was back when we moved into our first house. The whole “wait there’s no landlord to tell me I can’t paint or hang curtain rods?” thing. It took a while for us to fully grasp the concept of home ownership. And it was surprising to have those feelings again with our second house. It wasn’t like we were expecting someone to come in and tell us we couldn’t switch out the light fixtures or knock out the wall between the kitchen and the future dining room, we just sort of felt like we were playing house. Courting the place but not married to it yet, you know? We were in that “seeing where the whole relationship would go” phase. Haha. But lying in bed at night after painting our bedroom we both talked for hours about how it finally started to feel like ours.
And that’s sort of a huge concept – the whole “this house feels like our home” thing. So something so large and hard to grasp must need to happen slowly in stages. Because we only recently reached another “deeper” level of the whole “it really does feel like home” journey. What triggered that feeling? The personalized frame gallery that we made in the hallway…
… and the fact that we finally had a real working dresser and an organized closet.
They both really were game changers, as lame as that sounds. I can’t believe we waited so long to add something personal to the walls (the hallway gallery took us over three months to start and over a month to finish). And to create an actual sock and underwear drawer for myself after months of living with crazy piles of clothing on the floor of the closet was definitely a huge relief. I guess we felt more like ourselves with the sentimental stuff hanging up and the unmentionables tucked away. Like we were getting back to ourselves and the real way that we like to live – as opposed to feeling like we were on vacation with nothing on the walls that was really ours (and piles of clothes on the floor “temporarily”).
And of course it always feels the most like our house when we have people over. Because they show up and it just feels cozy and full. Even if we just order pizza…
…or lounge in the living room.
We’re actually anticipating another level of the whole “this really is our house” feeling when we finally complete the patio. I guess just the idea of creating an outdoor zone that no one before us has ever hung out on feels especially unique and ours-ish. Here’s an up to the moment shot of John’s progress so far out there:
Have you guys noticed that it takes a while to really feel at home in a new house too? Or did you move right in and feel amazing and call it “home” right away? It’s funny because it didn’t not feel amazing to us. At all. We were floating. Every night for the first month we marveled at the house and were so happy that it was ours (in fact we still do that at least twice a week). But it’s just kind of weird how certain things have to take place to feel settled in a new space. What did it for you guys? Was it cooking your first big meal in your new kitchen? Or painting every last room and piece of trim for a totally fresh canvas? It’s weird how such mundane (or major) things can totally change how you feel about your four walls.
Psst- We announced this week’s giveaway winners. Click here to see if it’s you.
Psssttt- Have you heard that Mariah Carey named her son Morrocan after “an interior decoratoring theme of a floor of their apartment”? Do you have any feelings about that? And furthermore, should we name our next baby Quatrefoil after our favorite mirror shape? Quatrefoil Petersik does have a nice ring to it…
Mercedes says
I’ve been in my house for almost a year (the 20th is my “keys in my hand” anniversary) and my house really hasn’t felt like home until the last few weeks when I’ve gotten most of the boxes out of the rooms and into closets, and I’ve started painting some of the rooms, and really figuring out where I want furniture to go. It’s nice to have a place of your own to paint, hang drapes, and put holes in walls without having to wonder if someone else is going to mind!
Zoe Feast says
We moved into my house about 8 months ago and it is just starting to feel like home. I completely underestimated the time it would take us to make it ours but it is fun journey along the way. I even started my blog and write letters, Dear Chicago House, to catalog the changes. My favorite makeover has been a grotty basement room.
http://www.creativeinchicago.com/2011/04/basement-makeover.html
Looking forward to seeing your finished patio!
Tiffannie says
I’m still a renter but I’ve lived in a total of 6 different dorms/apartments/rental houses in the past 9 years. I haven’t been able to make changes to make them feel more mine (and I’m really really looking forward to owning for that reason).
The turning point where I feel “at home” is the first time I can walk around in the dark. For one thing, it means I know my new place well enough to not run in to walls and doors, and stuff. But there’s also a kind of coziness to being in a space as dusk sets in and not turning on any lamps and just letting it get darker inside as you wind down from the day. Maybe it’s because public spaces are always well lit (or else scary if they’re dark).
YoungHouseLove says
That’s so true! For weeks I was walking around gingerly with my arms out at night. Now I can navigate to and from the bathroom in pitch black! I must be home!
xo,
s
Kelley says
We’ve been in our house one year as of last week and I’m just now starting to really feel connected to the place. When we toured the house I fell in love and was completely smitten, but it’s funny – after we moved in and lived there I was so overwhelmed with what to do first I sort of disconnected from it. As I’ve painted rooms and hung curtains and spruced up the yard, we’ve both slowly come to love the house and WANT to make more tweaks and changes of our own so it becomes truly ours.
VOL25 says
I think the love you have for your house kinda grows like the love for your significant other… when you don’t think it can get any better, you break him in some more and change him just a little to suit your style, and before you know it you love him even more! ha hah all joking aside, I definitely think the more memories you make in a house the more it feels like a home. :)
Also, slightly off topic- but I’ve been meaning to ask you- what color of gray did you guys decide on? I’ve been TRYING super hard to find a light gray for my living room walls that doesnt turn out looking blue, green or purple. I’ve been doing some research online and it seems to be quite a few people have embarked on the journey to find the perfect gray, and not very many of them have a happily ever after ending. Maybe you guys could write a post with tips on choosing a gray? I’m really wanting an ambercrombie and Fitch color scheme for the living room… light gray on the walls, with a much darker shade of gray on the ceilings, and white crown molding. We have 11 foot tall ceilings so I think we could do it without making the room seem too much smaller… anyhow would love to hear your thoughts! :D
YoungHouseLove says
In our space we tried a few gray tones and the one that read the most “true” was Benjamin Moore’s Moonshine (color matched to Olympic no-VOC paint). But it definitely has to do with your lighting so maybe bring home a ton of swatches and maybe even a few test pots before deciding? Good luck! And your darker ceilings with white molding sounds amazing!
xo,
s
MP says
Hey, i’m actually looking for a grey that reads a little purple, any of your rejects fall into that?
YoungHouseLove says
Ours seemed to go green or blue. Maybe VOL25 has some for ya?
xo,
s
Stefanie says
We have a purpley-grey (purply? purple-y?) in our formal living room – it’s Smoked Oyster by Behr. It may be a bit more purple than you’re wanting but we love it, and have gotten so many requests for the name of the color from guests!
Kate says
We have been in our first home for about a year, and I still feel like we are playing house. We finally painted all the kitchen cabinets and I am waiting on the curtains. I think once that is done it will start to feel like home as I am a big cook and having my kitchen the way I want it will make it feel like home. Also we are pregnant, so I think doing the nursery will make it feel like our home as well.
Kate says
I’ve moved 5 times in the last 5 years. My husband and I in our 3 years of marriage have never had our own space…until last week when we closed on our first house. The feeling is unbelievable- even with all the unfinished floors, pink hued walls and our belongings still in boxes. I’ve never been so “home” in my life. <3 And I'm super pumped that after following your blog for so long I can finally use all of your tips and ideas in my own space. Thanks guys <3
Rocky B says
Based on everyone elses responses it seems pretty obvious that most people don’t have that “homey” feeling immediately. That makes me feel better, since we moved in November and I am just starting to feel like our house is turning into “our” home. Hanging pictures and organizing has made a big difference for me!
Julie says
We bought our first home brand new and got to pick out flooring, counters, etc. We would go visit as it was being built, so when we moved in it did feel like ours. We moved into our second house in July and it’s 30 years old. I think I made my husband crazy for MONTHS talking out how it didn’t feel like “ours”. With each step (new flooring, paint, new countertops, etc), I would say, “it just feels more like ours now.” I wonder if I’ll still be saying that 5 years from now when we do other renovations!
Michelle says
We’ve been in our new home for a few months now and I can’t say I feel like it’s a home yet. Key word is yet. It’s so strange when you rent, you know you can’t do anything to the place so you move in, put your stuff away and go on. Moving into your own home that you have total control over with so many options out there, things move a little bit slower. I haven’t even put clothes in closet yet because I wanted to seal all the holes and cracks, then paint it, then get a closet system (hopefully that goes in this weekend). Things just move at a much slower pace and I’m hoping in a few months it feels more secure and put together which for me will help me feel like it’s really my home.
kaylan says
We’ve moved four times in the last two years so our lives have felt like a constant state of temporary for far too long. I made a point to open every box, organize the entire place, and remove all the cardboard and garbage within the first 48 hours. (It helps when you only have a one bedroom apartment to unpack.) For the first week or so, I’d set up the furniture exactly the same way as it was in our old house too so there was some familiarity. Then the longer we lived there the more I rearranged and personalized the new space.
Even though I got it down to a science, I am sooo glad we are done moving for the next 5-10 years!
Meghan, UK says
When we moved in to our house it felt like ‘playing house’ for a long time. When we’d finished hanging our accent wallpaper in the bedroom it really began to feel like home. All that effort and we still think it looks fantastic 18 months on. Not worrying about walking into housemates at night also made us eventually settle. 5 years of sharing to just us two made for a blissful 1st house!
And… you guys are killing me with the suspense of the patio building! I can’t wait to see more progress and ‘completed’ shots!
Skooks says
We’ve been in our house for about a year now and though it’s felt like home pretty quickly from the start, it still needs LOTS of personalization. I have the same problem a lot of people seem to . . . I want it to be “just right” before we hang stuff, but I’m really indecisive on what I want. This house has a totally different feel than our old house so a lot of the art and stuff we had up before just doesn’t “go” or feel right in this place . . . hard to explain. Maybe I just want new stuff. ;)
Megan says
It took me awhile to adjust to our new home and now that we’ve been there for eight months I does feel like ours. We’re still working on all kinds of projects, but we’re getting there!
Sarah B says
I bought the house I grew up – from my mom so it felt like home right away – for me anyway, not so sure the hubs felt that way.
But now I have to undo all my mom’s decorating – like wallpaper and at times it’s weird! I even made her come over to help take down a border she had up in the living room. UM, AWKWARD.
(As a side not – how weird is the word AWKWARD anyway – so hard to spell – I am embarrassed to say I had to spellcheck it)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, it’s one of those words that if you look at it too long it looks misspelled!
xo,
s
Sabrina says
I totally agree! Hubby and I built our home a little over a year ago, and even after moving our furniture in and painting the walls and hanging up pictures it still felt like we were “playing house”. It wasn’t until this spring when we added a huge deck, storage shed, and landscaping did it really start to feel like home. So I understand exactly where you’re coming from. It’s a very weird feeling, and “house limbo” totally fits.
As far as the name thing goes, we were thinking of naming our next one “mid-century modern” in keeping with the whole Mariah Carey thing. I’m not sure it has the same flow, though. :)
beth says
We moved into our house in November and our two-year-old kept telling us he wanted to go home, meaning back to my in-law’s house where we had been staying during the house hunt. Sometime in February, he told me he wanted to go home and he meant out new house. It was definitely a “this is finally home” kind of moment…
Wom-mom Ethne says
I have no classy or mom-appropriate words for the names of MC’s children. Being named after the home decor of the apartment in which your daddy proposed to your mommy is weird. Pretty sure there are loads of other ‘m’ names available.
Sarah says
On the keeping it real side, our first “this is our home!” moment was more one of groaning disgust than excitement. Our first morning in our new home the air conditioner in the side year let off several explosions followed by a puff of smoke. More of an “oh crud, we’re home owners now and that’s OUR responsibility” moment than one of contented bliss :-).
JW says
I purchased a foreclosed home about a year ago. It took over 2 months to clean the house and to discover if all of the mechanical functions were in working order. For some odd reason I was kind of creeped out the first couple of times I stayed over night in it, for the sole fact that I kept on thinking that I stole someone’s home from them and that one day they would come back seeking revenge. To this day I still do not feel like it is my home, even though I have completed a ton of major projects and put my personal touch on it. Hopefully with the weather turning and being able to tackle creating my first garden and working on the landscaping will help so everyday when I return from work, I can finally call it HOME.
VOL25 says
Thanks for the reply Sherry, after thinking about it some I remembered seeing a post on the gray colors, so I went and did a search to find it. :) Good call with the moonshine! I’m going to grab me some test colors, but I love how it looks in your house. I guess I’ll see how it looks in my house. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Good luck!
xo,
s
Gina says
It’s amazing what area rugs, and artwork & shelves on the wall can do to make a place feel more like home! Once I added an area rug to my living room, it felt much more cozy. (Today is my birthday so I’m thinking about treating myself to jute rug for my bedroom!)
And adding shelves/artwork to the walls helped the space feel more like it belonged to me – the same way that your hallway gallery does for you! :)
Crystal says
In one weekend we moved into our first house and adopted our dog– and all at once we were home. We felt like this was “the way it had always been.” Years of apartments melted away and our dog settled right in with her “pack” in our home.
Sara @The Fat Hydrangea says
I needed to read this post! Such perfect timing for my life..
We have been house hunting for a solid 6-months, and I have so much trouble feeling like the houses we look at could be “MINE” and be that wonderful, lovely house I’ve been dreaming of since I was probably 16! Your post reminded me that its not all about the house on day 1, its about the potential, the potential memories you will make there and for those of us who love to decorate and nest – how you transform it over time to make it ‘you’.
Paige says
My husband bought the condo we live in back when we were only dating. I didn’t move in until a few months before the wedding, so it was lookin’ pretty dude-ly. We’re talking a plaid couch, dark and light wood mixed together all over the place, nothing on the walls…
It took about a year, maybe a little longer, for it to feel like it was my home, too. We (mostly me) did a lot of re-decorating, and now the style represents both of us. I was in a virtual parade of homes this week, actually:
http://finalclothesout.blogspot.com/2011/05/parade-of-homes.html
Mel V. says
Most of the places I’ve lived haven’t been home in any meaningful way, so I haven’t put much work into making them feel like it. The exception is the place I’m at now – I felt comfortable there the day I moved in. A couple of weeks later, I got thrift store curtains for the two front windows, and it’s been home ever since. I hadn’t had curtains since early childhood! Amazing what a difference they make.
Rikke says
I can totally relate. It wasn’t until we repainted every room, took out the customized built-ins from the previous owner, and changed every light fixture that the house started to feel like our own. Good luck with all of your house projects! I can’t wait to see what you guys do next!
Liz says
In one week we’ll be closing on our new house. Like you guys, we poured our heart and soul into our current house and are planning on doing it again (hopefully tackle even more rooms, more projects, bigger projects…) in the new house. I’m extremely excited, but also worried about how I’ll feel leaving a house that already feels like ours. Its been reassuring following your move, re-reading old posts for advice, and seeing that its okay to let go of the old comfortable memory-filled house and embrace something new. Thanks.
Marissa says
Thanks for posting this, I NEEDED to read something like this today. We are about to move into a house this week that we bought. We went from new construction to a 1970’s home. I cry everyday thinking I hate the house and wish we never bought it……..I am 9 months pregnant and just have a bit before I give birth and feel so out of place……..I guess its good to read here that I am not the only one that does not feel or felt at home at the beginning…….
Then we pulled out carpet in a room and the concrete subfloor was just ugly and smelled like mildew. Now I feel even worse…….some encouragment would help. Did you’ll ever run into surprises when remodeling or after moving in?? I hope I can fall in love with my house one day and not feel like we bought the wrong house….. :-(
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, there are many (many) times when you realize your precious new house is annoying!!! In our first house the air conditioner went out about a month into owning it- such a bummer! Thank goodness for our home warranty. But we definitely fought those feelings of “did we get a lemon?” and “is there a better house out there for us” in the beginning. But there was just so much raw potential (like it sounds like you have in your house) so I’m sure when you solve the concrete subfloor dilemma (maybe deep clean it and stain it and toss down an area rug?) you’ll hopefully start seeing your home as more of a prince than a frog. I remember calling my BFF and saying “our house is a butterfly” about a year after we moved in. It started out as an ugly caterpillar but it totally transformed with some time and effort and love. Good luck!
xo,
s
Marissa says
Thanks Sherry for your reply :-) You made my day! I will definately have to fight those “did I buy a lemon?” feelings and go on and wait for my precious baby!! xoxo back to you!!
Lady Kay's Kitchen says
We moved into our house about 2 months ago and it still kind of doesn’t feel like ours yet. It’s our first one to own. We still need to buy a table, and we still have one room filled with stuff we haven’t figured out what to do with yet! But I put up frames for a gallery wall, and once the photos that I ordered come in the mail, and I put them into the frames, I think it will go a long way towards making this house feel like our own. Also I think it will feel more like ours once we take out the plants the previous owners had put in the front yard (which I don’t like) and plant some that we picked out ourselves. :)
Mallory says
I’ve been anxious for the last few days about the impending big move this weekend: the roommate moved out, the boyfriend is moving in and we’re taking over the giant master suite and will have a huge apartment all to ourselves finally. I’ve lived here for 2 years and yet the apartment feels different. Not new, not old, and certainly not yet home. But this post helped me realized this is exactly what I’m so anxious about! Time to go decorate…
Kate says
Sherry, just love you. You make me laugh on a daily basis. So glad we’re internet friends, and I mean that in the least-stalkerish way possible.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw I love you too! For reals.
xo,
s
Janelle says
Sooooo agree with you about moving! We moved three months ago and are STILL going through boxes in the garage and trying to hang art in our house. I have taken this “see how the space hits me” attitude, knowing that what I will want to do with it will come to me some evening and then it’s all hands on deck to get it done! LOL
We also found out that we have WAAAYYYY to much stuff so going through it all, piece by piece, has been a bit overwhelming. I know it will get done and I know that I will probably part with something that I’ve had forever, but it has to be done. * sigh *
Another thing, we are still fixing the things that have to be done for the bank, etc. Like right now, a dumpster is being left in my driveway for the new roof. I feel like we are on hold because of all the “mending” we have to do. One thing has to wait because of another…
Anyway, love your house! It’s beautiful!
Elisabeth@SimpleGreenishLiving says
Our house finally started to feel like home when I became pregnant and we started getting everything ready for the little one :)
Sarah says
I’m thirty-three years old and am now on ownership of house number 4. We buy old houses and fix them up while living in them. I always say it takes between six months and one year to not feel like you are living in someone else’s dirt and grime. It usually takes months before I can scrub the baseboards without cussing because of the level of grit left behind by previous owners. When that day comes, when I have the epiphany of “hey, this is our dirt!”, then the house finally feels like MY house.
BeckyB says
I’m laughing about the Ron Burgundy clip–I no longer own a TV but there used to be a couple of people on CNN Headline News that drove me crazy. “Good morning? Today is Friday and my name is Jane Doe? The president is giving a speech today? Let’s go to the weather next?” Never could decide whether they were telling me what the news was or if it was just a possibility that those things were happening.
Don’t know about “Morrocan,” but I’ve heard other strange things people named their kids after. I used to babysit a little girl named Landry. I thought it was a pretty name until I found out her father was a huge Cowboys fan and had named her after Tom Landry. The name lost any appeal after that. Oh, well, when Morrocan gets old enough, he can change his name like David Bowie’s oldest child “Zowie Bowie” did. If I named a kid of mine after the flooring in my apartment, he or she would have to be named “Old basic beige rental property carpet that needs to be replaced.” “Oxo” would be much easier to learn how to spell.
Leslie *Fresh Out of Lemons* says
My husband and I lived in a one bedroom apartment for seven years before moving into our dream home. For the longest time, we had the feeling of ‘You mean ALL of this is our’s?!’ I can rememeber being on one side of the house and thinking, ‘Whoa, Joey is so far away on the other side of the house!’ We’ve happily adjusted. :)
Alex says
We get a little of both feelings from time to time in our house. We’ve been renovating our place for over 8 years now, and obviously, the longer we are here the more it feels like “home,” but I think that has far more to do with completed projects than it does with time. I’d say that, aside from the first year in the house, it usually feels like home in almost any state, even if that means it feels like a not very nice home.
Take for example, our many years overdue quick update to our guest room. http://www.oldtownhome.com/2011/5/4/The-Crappy-BB/index.aspx Before we updated it, it felt like home, but just a bad room of our home, one we liked to ignore and pretend wasn’t actually part of our home, but we knew it was there, like the embarrassing uncle nobody likes to acknowledge.
So we did this quick update on the room, and for the first week after it was done, I found myself looking into the room to just admire it. It felt sort of like our home, but maybe just a little nicer. After about a week, the “new” room starts to feel like it is the normal room and is then part of our home.
This is pretty much how every project goes. For me, now that we’ve been here for a while, the transition phase from old room to new room is the only time it doesn’t totally feel like home, but it isn’t a bad feeling, just a different one.
Ashley @ DesignBuildLove.co says
Your guys house is really shaping up… it’s great to see the rooms in “motion.” It’s funny how a little paint can change everything! Our house did not feel like ours at all when we moved it. Like you guys, we were totally excited and flat out giddy to be there, but the house was so beat up and dirty, we just couldn’t feel “at home.” First thing we did was crash for a few nights in another bedroom while we immediately painted the master bedroom and bath, and installed a closet kit to organize all of our stuff. After that, we moved our way out of that room into the rest of the house tackling paint one room at a time. It’s funny have a little paint can do a-whole-lot to change the mood and home-i-ness of your house!
PS- I’m saying NO to Quatrefoil Petersik. Mariah totally dissapoints me… she could’ve at least named her son Morocco, so it’s actually a name and not a description!
Annalea says
Um, I think that naming your child after a decorating theme is a bit . . . trivial.
Moroccan is a cool name, but announcing that seems a bit out there to me. (I, who have a “just thought it was pretty” reason behind my name, but have a name made of two of the most common name components in the English-speaking world that, put together, mean “weary grace”. Yeah. Some real meaning is something I’ve wished for my entire life.)
Anne At Large says
I am doing my darndest to make my new place feel like a home, but it is SLOW! Hanging art and painting the bedroom made a big difference, as did finding a rug for my office, and having guests was a biggie because it made us take care of a lot of unfinished stuff. But there are still things like a rug for the bedroom and a couple of awful light fixtures that are driving me crazy! But it’s only been a couple of months.
So I am right on the same page with you (and I just did a big garden project so that made a big difference too).
Ellen says
3 things:
-Love the Ron Burgundy clip. Try saying non-question phrases as questions: instantly funny?
-It definitely took us awhile to get our house feeling like our home. We’ve been here 1 year and it still feels like we’re settling in some days.
-Pretty sure you shouldn’t be allowed to have kids if you’re going to name them after a decorating theme. Yeeesh.
tarynkay says
Re: baby names- My first thought was that naming a baby Moroccan was like naming a baby Canadian, but then I read that it was after a decorating scheme? So that’s… just weird. Also, I was disappointed that she didn’t name the girl Glitter. I was counting on that.
And this probably makes me sound like the kind of person who would name a baby Moroccan, but I think a lot about the process of ensouling a house. We’ve moved cross country twice over the past 10 years, so our furniture and things haven’t even been consistent. Yet people always say the same things about our home- mostly they comment on how relaxing and calming it is. I’m not sure how we acheived that, but I’m very happy about it.
Ashlyn says
We have lived in our current house for just under two years. There are things that need to be updated, but the house has such a nice look and feel…that I wanted to be here for awhile before we did anything major. In other houses of ours, I’ve started to pull wallpaper two minutes after the closing.
So, we haven’t moved very quickly on changes, but it feels comfortable and like home.
Jessica says
Thanks so much for this post! We are just about to close on our first house and are giddy with excitement. We’re excited to make it “ours” but plan to take our time decorating and finding the right furniture (and hopefully follow in your footsteps and not be frozen by indecision!).
What are your thoughts on housewarming parties–yay or nay? We’re excited to have everyone over, but know it will be a while until we’re really settled. Is it better to have a party right away while the house is still “new” but not customized or after it’s decorated but we’ve been living in it half a year or more?
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, I’d do it about a month in so you’re a bit more settled (don’t have boxes everywhere and you know where the cups are) but don’t worry if things look, um, undone. That’s to be expected right after you move!
xo,
s
Kate says
I’ve been thinking about the same thing (we’re also [hopefully] closing in a couple weeks!) and I think we’re going to give ourselves about a month and a half. Things definitely won’t be done, but we want to do something before the end of summer.
I also kind of feel wierd about it in general since some people think housewarming = gifts (we definitely don’t want people to feel like they need to bring anything). However, my husband’s co-workers said we MUST have a party once we have the new house, so I guess we’ll just go with the flow. Calling it a barbeque instead of a house-warming will probably help.
Katy says
This post was exactly what I needed to see today! After a whirlwind adventure of selling our first home which we purchased in 06 and buying our second home, and closing on them both this coming week, I’m feeling all sorts of emotions from the nostalgia of our first little home to the excitement of our larger more grown up home with lots of land. It’s nice to see what you wrote about your first few months in the new digs. You’ve got me thinking about all the fun home improvements we can do with our new place. I’m thinking the kitchen can use an accent wall with chalk board paint.I can vision writing dinner menus for the week, and shopping lists, and drawing various pictures. Have you ever tried the chalkboard paint? I’m wondering how it looks in reality!
YoungHouseLove says
I’m itching to try it! We’ve tried magnetic paint (loved it) but still want to work chalkboard paint into this house somewhere!
xo,
s
Yolande says
We moved to our house and it took 2 years before we felt like it was home because I didn’t do anything to it. Candice Olson helped jumpstart it when she redid our basement for her show and then we furnished the entire house. Yes, I know you’re a fan of her. She’s as nice in person as in the show.
YoungHouseLove says
Candice is my favorite! What an amazing experience that must have been!
xo,
s
Cynthia says
Even though I had started painting my house before I finished moving in, it didn’t feel like MINE until a few months later when I got my land title. It was really weird, but having that document with my name on it assured me that this house was mine.
skye says
we have lived in our house a year and it still doesn’t really feel like home but i am ok with that. i know that part of the process of being a first time home owner is making that transition that morphs your house, a structure with walls, rooms, plumbing and flooring, into a home, a bubble full of laughter, cozy, love and snuggles. i am loving the process and all of the fun and frustration that comes with it!
so many things have delayed us (the death of my mother about two weeks after we moved in last year, my brother’s wedding and the impending birth of his son and other stuff like that) but i know that once we start to make changes it will make us more of a family and stronger in our marriage. so while it may take us years to even make tiny changes… making a house a home is what being a homeowner is all about and i don’t want to rush through it to get to the end. i want to enjoy all the steps along the way! :)
Corinne says
I know exactly what you mean about the house taking time to feel like “yours.” I’ve been in my house since September of last year, and even with the little bit of painting I’ve done and projects I have lined up, I still can’t believe it’s all mine. I spent the last seven years living in apartments with white everywhere and had gotten so used to having someone else do all the repairs for me or approve putting up curtain rods that it’s still a shock to my system sometimes when I toss paint up on the walls!